As it is written in *Celestial Craftsmanship*: All things possess a spirit, and all can be refined.

These were not empty words.

When subjected to power of a sufficient level, almost anything could be refined to extract "Spiritual Materials"—substances that exist on the cusp of observable and unobservable matter.

This was true for mountains and ores, for the essence of plants and trees, and even, in theory, for the flesh and blood of living beings—not to mention their scattered emotions and willpower.

*Celestial Craftsmanship* never shied away from this, recording such techniques in exhaustive detail.

Of course, not all Spiritual Materials were suitable for use.

The materials had to align with the inherent "principle" and "nature" of the object being refined.

Forcibly integrating an incompatible substance would, at best, yield poor results for twice the effort. At worst, it could destroy the artifact and injure the smith.

While the flesh, blood, emotions, and willpower of living creatures were indeed exceptionally special materials, they were difficult to refine and had to be selected with extreme caution. Otherwise, they could introduce impurities into the artifact’s consciousness, disrupting its pure obedience. This would obstruct the flow of Mana, turning the enhancement into a hindrance.

But the remains of this mutated behemoth from the Deep Red Wilderness, provided its residual, frenzied will could be purified, were a superb natural treasure.

Its core carapace, the nexus of its innate Energy Shield, naturally condensed both "thermal energy" and a protective property of instantaneous activation that included "deflection."

With Murphy’s True Flame techniques, refining this highly condensed Origin material from an Extraordinary Creature would result in far less loss than processing common ore.

More importantly, the properties of this material perfectly matched the third component he needed to enhance his Flying Sword.

Refined Gold, the eternal foundation, granted absolute "immortality" and "stability." It was the indestructible frame capable of bearing immense force.

Thunder Marrow represented the ultimate in "Rapid" speed, "Piercing" power, and "instantaneous bursts," injecting the Flying Sword with a soul of thunderous kinetic energy.

One was still, the other in motion; one defensive, the other offensive. One was the foundation of eternity, the other the edge of an instant.

Forcibly fusing them could still produce an artifact, but the internal conflict and disharmony would be unavoidable. It would be like crudely binding a silent mountain to a surging bolt of Thunder, subtly compromising the weapon’s overall harmony and limiting its ultimate potential.

What he needed was a third key material to act as a "bridge" and a "harmonizing agent."

And the Spiritual Essence refined from the behemoth’s carapace, with its properties of "thermal energy" and "deflection," could play this role perfectly.

With Refined Gold as the Immortal Sword Bone and Thunder Marrow as the Thunder Sword Soul, this essence of "thermal energy" and "deflection" could become the "Sword Veins" or "sword sinews" that circulated between the bone and the soul. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

When the Thunder Marrow’s violent Thunderbolt Power erupted, the "thermal energy" and "deflection" properties could absorb some of the excessive recoil, converting it into internal heat to assist subsequent bursts and reduce the instantaneous pressure on the Refined Gold sword bone.

Meanwhile, the "deflection" property could even guide the dissipation of the Thunder’s energy, focusing it more effectively for armor-piercing effects.

It would act as the perfect "adhesive" and "amplifier" between the other two components. This would allow the Flying Sword to possess not only unparalleled sharpness and speed but also exceptional resilience and energy conversion efficiency.

Only when all three components complemented one another could he forge a truly perfect weapon of slaughter.

A glint appeared in Murphy’s eyes, his mind racing with excitement.

This was a godsend.

War was undoubtedly dangerous, but it also presented opportunities rarely found in times of peace.

’Perhaps this was it—"the Great Number is fifty, but its use is forty-nine, for one has escaped."’

He hesitated no longer.

Murphy walked to the center of the room. With a wave of his hand, a deep, silent black True Flame ignited in his palm, seeming to swallow the very light around it.

He chose not to begin refining the entire piece at once. Instead, he carefully broke off a fragment the size of a fingernail and tossed it into the True Flame.

He needed to conduct a small-scale test first to determine the difficulty of the process, the rate of material loss, and whether the quality and properties of the final Spiritual Essence were truly as perfect a match as he predicted.

The black flame silently enveloped the dark red carapace. The temperature in the room did not change, yet the very air seemed to twist and distort.

Murphy was completely focused, guiding the True Flame to meticulously purge the impurities and isolate that single, core strand of Spirituality.

The fragment spun slowly within the True Flame. Its color gradually shifted from dark red to a deeper Dark Gold, and the patterns on its surface seemed to come alive, a faint, molten glow flowing within them.

Wisps of grayish-black impurity were stripped away, falling to the floor.

Mixed among them were faint, crimson wisps of mist.

This was the remnant of the behemoth’s frenzied will. It let out a silent shriek as the True Flame burned it away, finally dissipating into nothing more than a puff of smoke.

The process was slow but steady.

Not a trace of impatience showed on Murphy’s face, only absolute focus.

Time passed in the silence.

Outside, the sky turned from dark to dawn, and then to the brilliant light of day. The blazing midday sun streamed through the window, casting bright patches of light across the room.

Finally, the small fragment of carapace vanished completely. In its place, a single drop of liquid metal the size of a grain of rice hovered in the core of the black True Flame. It shimmered with an interwoven hue of Dark Gold and molten red, and deep within, a miniature nebula seemed to slowly rotate.

It radiated a warm yet firm energy, carrying with it a faint, almost imperceptible "deflection" property.

Murphy’s eyes lit up.

’Success!’

’And the quality is even better than I expected!’

’Minimal loss, extremely high purity, and the properties are perfectly preserved.’

Slowly dissipating the True Flame, he let the drop of Dark Gold liquid essence fall lightly into his waiting palm.

It felt warm to the touch, but not scorching, and possessed a strange, surprising weight.

Murphy took out a Glazed Bottle, placed the drop inside, and tucked it away safely.

Only after all this was done did he let out a long, heated breath, the tension finally leaving his body as his mind began to relax.